Paris 2023, including Evya's 14th birthday

Countdown to le quatorze juillet, when France celebrates Bastille Day and we celebrate Evya's Golden Birthday.

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Tyrian decorated himself as we left the river boat, and our tour director bet him that he wouldn't leave it on to walk through Paris. Our tour director doesn't know Tyrian very well.

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We had seen the Eiffel Tower first thing in the morning. Some of us now wanted to see it by night.

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Sainte Chapelle was as exquisite as we had been told.

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The Conciergerie devotes several rooms to remembrance of those who died at the guillotine during the revolution. Matthew, carrying his great-grandmother's family name of French origin, Pickard, as his middle name, found some possible relatives.

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Sacre Coeur by night was the one place Christina absolutely had to show the family. From past trips, it was her most vivid memory of Paris.

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Allyndreth's necessary stop was at the stomping grounds of Saint Denis, who caught her interest during her History of Paris class last year.

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Denis was the Bishop of Paris during the 3rd century A.D. who was beheaded under the persecution of Catholics by Roman emperor Decius. Saint Denis was said to have picked up his own head and preach a sermon on repentance while walking all the way to the now Saint-Denis Basilica.

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Another recommendation from Allyndreth's History of Paris class was a journey underground in the catacombs.

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A simple citrus dessert is fine art in Paris.

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On the morning of July 14th, we had brunch in splendor at the Musee d'Orsay, Evya's chosen destination for the day.

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After the museum, we stopped for some birthday snacks at a cafe. Le quatorze juillet is a national holiday and the Paris afternoon was without the hubbub of a normal city day.

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We stopped by the exterior of the Louvre, which we hadn't gotten to see on the day we toured with the river cruise.

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As the kids went back to our flat to rest, Matt and Christina scouted for a premier location to watch the Bastille Day fireworks that night.

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The experience turned out to be more than we hoped for. The crowds were calm and courteous, with everyone simply enjoying the lovely evening. After imagining the moment for 14 years, the reality surpassed the dream.

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The day was topped off with birthday sweets as we tucked into a grand éclair, and did a taste test between the macarons from Ladurée and from Pierre Hermé.

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Our last day in France we headed back to Versailles. Our initial visit with the river cruise tour had only scratched the surface and Allyndreth, in particular, wanted more in-depth exploration of the entire estate.

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